Lingering Influences of Parsons, Harris, Fogerty

To comment on more entries in the continuing flood of CD retrospectives and reissues, From the Vaults is changing its format. Instead of looking in detail at one or two releases, the column will reflect more briefly on a larger number of albums.

Rather than the old four-star grading system, the albums will be divided into three categories.

The first will be limited to essential releases--those so strong that they deserve a place in any comprehensive pop-music library. The second group will be albums that may contain some strong tracks, but are mostly suited to collectors who follow a particular artist or style. The final group will be simply an acknowledgment of routine or less releases.

To kick things off, we spotlight some essential or collectors’ choice albums by three of the most rewarding figures of the modern pop era: Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris and John Fogerty.

Essential Albums

Gram Parsons, “The Gram Parsons Anthology: Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels,” Rhino.

Part Elvis Presley, part Hank Williams and part cosmic cowboy, this cult hero made music so revolutionary that radio programmers in the ‘60s and ‘70s had difficulty trying to figure it out and rock historians today still can’t seem to put it into proper perspective.

The latter situation helps explain why Parsons hasn’t been voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame even though he has been eligible as a member of the Flying Burrito Brothers since 1994 and as a solo artist since 1998.

This outstanding two-disc collection brings together Parsons’ best work, from his early country-rock explorations with the International Submarine Band to his brief tenure with the Byrds to the landmark Burritos and solo periods. It’s music that has influenced everyone from the Beatles and Elvis Costello to Keith Richards and the entire No Depression movement of the ‘90s, and its mix of country sentiment and rock commentary still is inspiring. The album also contains an excellent booklet with information about each of the 46 tracks.

Emmylou Harris, “Anthology: The Warner/Reprise Years,” Rhino/Warner Archives.

Arguably the most consistently rewarding female artist ever in country music, Harris owes much of her musical vision to Parsons. Until she began touring and recording with him in the early ‘70s, she leaned more toward folk and pop than country and rock. But she didn’t just borrow from Parsons’ vision--she built on it.

Drawing on such varied writers as Don Gibson, Paul Simon, Lennon-McCartney and Chuck Berry, Harris gave us in her early Reprise albums a body of work as soulful as Aretha Franklin’s ‘60s best. The most evocative of those early tracks, “Boulder to Birmingham,” was her deeply moving reflection on the loss of Parsons, who died of a drug overdose in 1973. More excellent packaging.

John Fogerty, “Centerfield,” DreamWorks.

In one of the most dramatic comebacks ever in rock, Fogerty returned in this 1985 album with music that reflected most of the glorious energy and commentary of Creedence Clearwater Revival, his old band, which had broken up in 1972. In the key tracks, Fogerty, a master of roots-influenced rock, celebrated several of his personal passions, including Elvis Presley (“Big Train From Memphis”), baseball (the title track) and rock’s uplifting spirit (“Rock and Roll Girls”). Some magical moments.

For Collectors

Johnny Cash & the Tennessee Two, “Roads Less Traveled: The Rare and Unissued Sun Recordings,” Varese Sarabande.

Cash is such a major figure in modern pop that he’s one of the few artists who have been voted into both the rock and country halls of fame. The remarkable thing is that you can also make a case for him in the gospel and folk fields.

Recording on Sun Records in the ‘50s with guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant, Cash touched in these recordings on all four of those musical strains--from the folk vitality of “Wreck of the Old ‘97” and the country lament of “Born to Lose” to the gospel devotion of “I Was There When It Happened” to the rock bounce of “The Ways of a Woman in Love.” Solid stuff.

Also Available:

John Fogerty, “Eye of the Zombie,” DreamWorks.

Fogerty turns in one of his most tender and restrained vocals on “Sail Away,” but the rest of the 1986 follow-up to “Centerfield” doesn’t hold up well. He seemed to be stretching himself, as if to show he could move beyond the roots-rock trademarks of the Creedence sound. But the arrangements feel distant and uncomfortable. It’s no wonder he went back to his signature style in the much more appealing “Blue Moon Swamp” a decade later.

Various artists, “Then 1: Totally Oldies,” Varese Sarabande.

Given the enormous success of the “Now” series of contemporary hit compilations, it was only a matter of time before some label decided to put together a “Then” compilation of old hits. And Varese Sarabande wins the prize for beating everyone to the punch. Unfortunately, the music itself--18 hits from the ‘70s--is pretty marginal. It ranges from Amii Stewart’s “Knock on Wood” (one of the few bright spots) through the Bellamy Brothers’ “Let Your Love Flow” and Shaun Cassidy’s “Hey Deanie.”